Lost and Found
by Cotton-chan
Summary: A series of unfortunate events forces Kiyone to relive a memory she wishes she didn't have to remember. She then has to cope with the past, as well as negotiate the growing feelings she has for a certain someone. COMPLETE
1. No Need for Memories!

Wow, I'm absolutely flippin' speechless…Well, not really I s'pose, but I am pretty stunned because exactly twenty-one minutes ago, I finished my very first story. Now don't get me wrong, I've been writing for a _ridiculously_ long time, but not once have I actually _finished_ a story! So here I am, eighteen days after I started, twenty-seven pages later, and 14,889 words down with my very first completed story! Needless to say, I'm pretty darn excited at the moment.

Anyway, as the brief plot summary implied, this is an extremely (scratch that—_entirely_) Kiyone-centric fan fiction, mainly because she's underrated and, quite frankly, a rawkin' awesome character. (XD) I doubt that you're curious in the least, but regardless I'm gonna inform you as to why I started writing this story…Well honestly, there's not much to it. I was just very bored three weeks ago, so I randomly started watching the Tenchi Universe series over again. Anyway, after a tidal wave of nostalgia hit me, the idea for this story came rushing back from all those years ago…so voila! XD --is pelted with rotten fruit.

As a forewarning, I want to apologize in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivances/clichés. I'm not sure if there's any of the above in there, but I did that just in case…X.x Also, I'm sorry if the pairing in here isn't your particular cup of tea. Oh, and one last thing (I promise!): I really want to apologize for my experimental writing style. Basically, there are hardly _any_ descriptions and extraneous details thrown in here, mostly because they're not vital to the plot. Furthermore, I don't waste any time at all with getting the plot moving, much unlike my past attempts at writing.

Sorry, I lied; there is another thing! I didn't take any chances of posting this story as I went along, only to lose focus and forget about it while it languished incomplete. So since I've already completed the whole dang story, I'm going to post a new chapter after every **five **reviews. I'm really sorry for sounding like a complete review nazi, but I figured that would be the easiest way to do it… --is lying again; mostly just wants the reviews. --

Disclaimer: I honestly don't see the point of these things, but I might as well stick to tradition: I do not own Tenchi Universe; it's the property of Pioneer and its associates. All I own is the box-set, a very cool Tenchi computer wallpaper, and this story.

Thank you very much if you suffered through that ridiculously long author's note. XD And now, without further ado, I present to you: Lost and Found!

(Fan fiction started on March 18, 2006; finished on April 7, 2006 at 5:50)

-1-

"Damn it, Mihoshi; put the gun down!" Kiyone bellowed with a shaking fist and a throbbing vein on her forehead as her partner continued to giggle incessantly. She was _not_ about to put up with her idiotic partner's antics this morning, seeing as she had already gotten them fired from yet another part-time job after she had pushed the snooze button on their alarm clock four times in a row that morning. Mihoshi ignored Kiyone's cry and continued to wave the gun that she had filched from Washu's lab around with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, c'mon Kiyone," she laughed, "I feel like I'm on the Space Police Police Force!" It didn't help matters that Washu had gotten the inspiration for said blaster from an episode that she had caught Mihoshi watching and soon used the design for a weapon of her own.

Through gritted teeth, Kiyone growled, "Don't be ridiculous, Mihoshi; you're going to end up hurting someone with that thing, namely _me._ Give it here!" She stalked towards Mihoshi quickly and grabbed it by the barrel. Her scatterbrained partner stopped her giggling and pouted her lips as her eyes welled up with tears.

"C'mon, Kiyone! Let go!" She pleaded while still holding onto the gun. It was at that moment that Tenchi came through the screen door from his early morning sword lesson with Grandpa. Mihoshi turned her head to face him, promptly forgetting about the gun as she cried, "Good Morning, Tenchi!" She waved with one hand as she inadvertently pulled the trigger with the other.

The sound of the blast reverberated throughout the household. The powerful beam of yellow light hit Kiyone squarely between the eyes, throwing her back against the wall, where she fell still. Looks of horror graced the faces of Tenchi and Mihoshi as they stared at the motionless police officer slumped against the wall.

The sound of quick footsteps coming from upstairs penetrated the silence, and Ryoko and Ayeka growled indignantly at the top of the staircase as Sasami peeked out from behind them.

"What is with all of this racket out here? Don't you realize that some people are trying to sleep up he—?" Ayeka cried before stopping short as she caught sight of Kiyone. Silence pervaded throughout the room, as the three standing at the top of the stairs looked from Tenchi's horrified face to Kiyone's still form, before finally resting their eyes on Mihoshi's horror-struck face and the gun she still held in her hands.

Ryoko was the first to break the silence when she remarked with wonder, "Well, here I was always thinking that Kiyone would be the one to shoot Mihoshi."

Finally willing his legs to move, Tenchi dashed forth to Kiyone's side while growling, "Now is _not_ the time for this, Ryoko." He kneeled down next to the prone woman, grabbing her wrist with one hand while brushing the stray hands from her face with the other. "Her pulse is fine, and there doesn't seem to be any marks on her forehead. So, what's wrong with her?" he murmured almost to himself as all of the other girls crowded around him.

"Kiyone!" Mihoshi suddenly bawled, "Oh no, what have I done?" The distraught officer fell to her knees and started wailing as Sasami placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

All of a sudden, the door to the closet flew open, and a distressed Washu came screeching out with a panicked expression. "You all, have you seen the gun from my lab—?" The pink-haired scientist also came to an abrupt stop as she caught sight of the blaster in Mihoshi's hand and Kiyone.

"You moron!" She cried as she snatched it from Mihoshi's hands and checked over some knobs protruding from its side. "Oh this isn't good; this isn't good at all. It's on the highest setting," Washu muttered as she looked back and forth from the gun to Kiyone.

Tenchi stood up and pushed his way through the girls towards Washu. "What is it, Washu? What's wrong with Kiyone?" He asked with a frightened look in his eyes.

"Well," Washu explained calmly as she closed her eyes and crossed her arms, "Kiyone's memory has most likely been completely erased."

"What?" All of the girls shouted at once as they stared at Washu, horrified. "Why in hell did you create a gun like that, Washu?" Ryoko cried with disbelief.

Washu coughed with embarrassment and looked away. "Well," she began, "on low settings, the Memory-Zapper erases short-term memories." The girls continued to gape at the pint-sized professor, waiting for her to continue. "I was planning on using it on you lot after I had used you as test subjects for my inventions. Y'know…so you wouldn't complain." A collective face fault occurred amongst the girls as silence fell upon the room once more.

Tenchi was the first to break the silence as he tightened his fists and growled, "Well, what can we do about it, Washu?" He looked back at Kiyone softly before reverting his gaze to Washu with a determined expression. He'd do whatever he could to help her.

Washu placed her arms out, signaling him to stop and calm down. "Alright, Tenchi, alright; just calm down already. Bring her to my lab and I'll see if there's anything I can do." With that, she turned on her heel and headed back to her lab.

The girls watched Tenchi as he gently picked up Kiyone in his arms and made his way to the lab as well. Ryoko shrugged and floated after him, and the rest of the girls followed suit.

Once inside, they all watched as Tenchi softly placed her down on a flat metal table that had risen out of a trapdoor in the ground. Wires fell down from the ceiling, and Washu placed the nodes attached to their ends on Kiyone's temples, forehead, and arms. The genius scientist then turned and began rapidly typing on a keyboard that appeared at her fingertips.

Washu shook her head and muttered without looking away from her holographic computer screen, "Guys, I hate to tell you that this isn't looking good. She's as clean as a slate, I tell ya." Ryoko and Ayeka's faces grew worried, and Mihoshi and Sasami's eyes welled up with tears. Tenchi averted his gaze and stared at the floor.

"Washu," Ayeka beseeched, "surely there's something you can do." The girls stared down at the pale, motionless Kiyone with sickened stomachs. How could something like this happen? They all thought to themselves.

Washu continued to shake her head and mutter to herself, typing away at the keyboard determinedly. She suddenly stopped, turned to face everyone else, and said with an astonished expression on her face, "I, I think I found something!" She unexpectedly jumped up on her seat and began laughing maniacally with her hands on her hips, "I'm not a genius for nothing, y'know!" Beads of sweat appeared on the heads of all of the girls as Washu turned back to her computer and continued to type as immediately as she had stood up.

"Way deep down in her subconscious, I found a repressed memory. I don't know what it is or what it contains, but maybe it can jump-start the rest of her memory," she declared excitedly without turning her head. "It's a serious long-shot, but hey, it's all I've got to work with."

With a dramatic flourish, Washu raised her pointer finger up and brought it down to strike a key. After she issued one more cackle, a projector screen unfurled from nowhere, and Washu yanked down the node wires from the ceiling and hooked them up to a projection device. The gadget immediately sent out light that filled up the screen, and Washu continued to type.

Ryoko whistled innocently, twiddled her thumbs momentarily, and suddenly phased out of the room. After a brief pause, Ayeka careened out of the lab with a screech and bolted out of sight. More beads of sweat appeared on the heads of Sasami and Mihoshi as the space pirate abruptly reappeared with the over-stuffed pink couch held up high above her head. She casually let it fall to the ground in front of them with a thud as Ayeka came back with a large bowl of popcorn. They both immediately sat down, and Sasami and Mihoshi followed suit with a shrug.

Tenchi gritted his teeth and remarked with irritation seeping into his voice, "Now girls, do you really think it's appropriate to watch a private memory of Kiyone's, especially since she's _repressed_ it for who knows how long?"

Ryoko phased behind Tenchi and floated behind him while drawing circles on his chest with a finger. She purred coyly, "Don't be ridiculous, Tenchi. Here, come take a seat next to me."

Ayeka sent the bowl of popcorn flying onto Mihoshi's head as she stood up and cried indignantly, "Ryoko, don't you dare mess with Lord Tenchi! I'll have you know—"

"Quiet down, you lot!" Washu shook a fist and shouted. "I can't concentrate with all of your yammering!" Ryoko and Ayeka returned to their seats cowed, and Tenchi resignedly took a seat between the two of them with a sigh as he looked at the unconscious Kiyone once more.

"Ah-hah; I got it!" Washu cried with success. She smirked as she leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. Then all of the girls looked up as the large screen was filled with a view of the stars as seen from outer space. Tenchi took one last worried glance at Kiyone as she slightly twitched and frowned before gazing up at the screen as well.

After a few moments had passed, the star-filled screen was still the only thing visible on the projector screen. Ryoko tapped her foot impatiently and began to remark, "Washu, I don't think the thing's work—" when a man's stern voice filled the room, "Kiyone Makibi, did you hear a _word_ of what I just said?"

The confused girls looked around the room for a second until they noticed that a change had occurred on the screen. The view swiveled from the star-filled sky that seemed to be seen from a window to rest on a strict-looking man who stood in front of a blackboard, apparently at the front of a classroom.

A voice that sounded remarkably like a younger version of Kiyone replied apologetically, "No sir, I haven't." The screen shook back and forth slowly as if someone was moving the projector to pantomime it shaking its head.

"Ah, I get it; we're seeing this from Kiyone's eyes," Tenchi remarked softly as realization hit him.

Washu turned her head back to face him and flashed him a devious smirk. "You got it!"

The speakers that had risen from trap doors on either side of the crowded couch blared to life once more. "Kiyone, you are one of our best and brightest," the slightly grizzled teacher began, "and I don't want to see all of your talent go to waste."

"Yes sir," the young Kiyone replied softly. Her small hand came into view as she rested her chin on her fist and sighed. She said nothing more as the teacher returned to his lesson concerning Galaxy Police ethics.

Ryoko crossed her arms and commented loudly while she was still chewing on a large handful of popcorn, "Now what the hell is wrong with this? Why would Kiyone try to forget this memory so badly?" Immediately after she said that, the sound of a door opening caused Kiyone's gaze to shift towards it. Standing in the doorway was a much younger Mihoshi. "Oh," the space pirate laughed uproariously as bits of popcorn flew from her mouth, "now I get it."

"I remember this!" The older Mihoshi exclaimed excitedly as she punched her hand. "This is when I first moved to the main Galaxy Police station! This is when I first met Kiyone!"

The stern teacher on the screen spoke once more, "Ah, better late than never, I suppose. This is the new transfer student from the Zeta Galaxy Station." The young Mihoshi scratched the back of her head and giggled, "Sorry, I got lost."

"Well," the teacher commented severely, "What do you want me to do, cry you a river? Stop standing there and go sit down; next to Kiyone is fine." He jammed a thumb towards Kiyone and Mihoshi nervously made her way to the unoccupied seat next to her.

"Hi, Kiyone! My name's Mihoshi!" she cried eagerly when she sat down. Kiyone simply nodded slowly before turning to face the teacher without saying a word.

The rest of the class period went by uneventfully, and the girls on the couch were beginning to get bored when the sound of a loud bell blared from the speakers, jarring them out of their dazes. Kiyone's fellow classmates got up and talked animatedly amongst themselves as they headed out the door.

Kiyone picked up her books and was slowly making her way towards the door when her teacher stopped her. "I want you to show the new girl around, alright? Is that understood?"

The young girl said nothing as she glanced over at the annoyingly exuberant girl. After a moment, she sighed and replied, "Yes, of course, sir." Her eye twitched slightly when Mihoshi giggled gleefully and clapped her hands together, but made no other gesture as she listlessly made her way out the door.

Mihoshi walked behind Kiyone dutifully, and after a moment she cried, "Oh wow, I am _so_ excited, Kiyone! I can tell that we're gonna have so much fun!"

Kiyone stopped in her tracks, turned towards Mihoshi slowly, and quietly responded, "You can stop following me now, you know. I have places to be."

The blonde girl blinked confusedly and asked apprehensively, "What do you mean, Kiyone? You can't leave me!"

"I just did," she replied curtly as she promptly turned on her heel and walked away as her teal-colored hair swished behind her. The young quickly got lost in the crowds of adult police officers and younger students as she sped through the halls.

The older version of Mihoshi on the couch laughed in delight and spouted, "Yup, Kiyone and I were best friends, right from the start!"

Everybody in the room felt beads of sweat form on their heads, and Ryoko commented snidely, "Yeah, I bet."

"Really though; what's bothering her so much?" Ayeka asked aloud. They all turned their eyes to the motionless Kiyone lying on the metal table, but there was no sign of a change in her expression to indicate a clue.

As the sound of a door slammed, everybody turned back to the screen. It appeared that Kiyone had entered the living room of the place she must have stayed in, which was evident by the overstuffed blue couch in the room, as well as the clutter strewn all over a table and the floor.

The young Kiyone threw her books aside, flopped onto the couch with a sigh, and stared up at the nondescript ceiling. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the sound of a television being switched on caused her gaze to shift to the flat-screen occupying the wall across from her.

Kiyone immediately sat up with an intake of breath as the image of a smiling young woman graced the screen across from her. The lady appeared to be sitting in a chair in the bridge of a Galaxy Police cruiser, and she was indeed in a standard police uniform. Her eyes were a deep, crystalline blue, and her hair was chocolate brown. In all, she looked like a Kiyone slightly older than the one lying before them all.

"Mom!" The young girl on the screen exclaimed breathlessly.

The corners of the woman's eyes crinkled as she laughed melodically, "Don't sound so surprised, Kiyone! As if your father and I would forget our little girl's tenth birthday!" With that, the woman reached an arm out and yanked a man into the television screen's view. The man had the same teal-colored hair that Kiyone had, but it seemed to defy gravity as it stuck up untidily in random directions.

"Ow," the man complained, "geez, Megumi, you don't have to dislocate my arm, do you?"

Both the woman called Megumi and Kiyone laughed at his whining, and the young girl replied, "Ah, quit your complaining, Dad!"

"Alright, enough of this," he groused, "I'm always being pushed around by you women. Anyway, look under the couch, Kiyone."

The girl promptly looked down between her legs, and let out a cry of delight. Quickly, she pulled out the two small boxes from underneath the couch and giggled at the wrapping paper adorned with cabbits.

"They're really not much, Kiyone," her mother began apologetically, "but we were called away on this mission on such short notice that we didn't have any time to go shopping before we left. We'll all go shopping together when we get back, 'k?"

Kiyone nodded once energetically, and her father waved his hand as if to shoo Megumi away. "Ah, just let her open 'em, will you?" He grumbled. The woman playfully punched him in the shoulder, and they both turned towards Kiyone expectantly.

The young girl giggled once more as she tore the paper off the first package without hesitation. Lifting the lid and tossing it aside, she gasped at what was inside.

"But it's just that orange headband," Sasami commented wonderingly at Kiyone's obvious excitement. Tenchi couldn't help but smile as he threw a quick glance at the same headband that rested on the comatose police officer's forehead.

"Your mother wasn't kidding when she said it wasn't much," her father explained, "but you've been stealing the darned thing off of my forehead for so long that I figured I might as well curb your thievery now and just give it to you!"

Kiyone laughed delightfully as she tied it around her head and answered, "It's perfect, Dad! It really is."

"Oh, quit showing off, Kensuke! Go on dear; open the one from me already," her mother encouraged impatiently. The man earned another punch to the shoulder when he lowered an eyelid with his finger and stuck his tongue out.

Once more, Kiyone didn't hesitate to tear of the cabbit-covered wrapping paper. She opened the lid on the small box more slowly this time, and drew in a sharp intake of breath at what she saw. Lying delicately amongst some tissue paper were two bright red earrings that glittered in the light.

"Oh, Mom," the young girl began breathlessly.

Megumi quickly interrupted her daughter as she said proudly, "Your father said you were much too young to get your own pair, but I got mine when I was your age, and I was _way_ more irresponsible than you when I was ten!" She put a finger behind each ear and showcased her own set of identical red earrings with a smirk on her face. Kensuke just rolled his eyes.

"Oh, but don't you _dare_ use them yet, young lady!" Kiyone's mother warned sternly. "I don't want to come back seeing that you rammed my beautiful Yagami into the side of the blasted space station! Wait 'til we come back and I'll teach you how to call the ship properly, 'k?"

Kensuke smirked and laughed, "As if that's gonna happen, Megumi! Did you forget that our Kiyone has _our_ genes? I bet she's gonna take your 'beautiful Yagami' out for a joyride the second we end this transmission!"

Kiyone growled indignantly and was about to reply when her father said with surprise and slight apprehension in his voice, "Oh damn! Megumi, we got too distracted; an unidentified ship is heading towards us. Turn the com-link off, 'k?"

"Sorry sweetie, but we've got to go! We should be back in a couple of weeks though, so be good 'til then!" Megumi said lovingly. The projector screen began to blur as Kiyone's eyes welled up with tears.

Her mother began reaching towards the control panel to turn off the transmission, but a flash of light and a loud explosion rocked the ship dangerously.

"Oh no, it's him," Kensuke's said breathlessly as panic seeped into his stunned voice. "Turn the com-link off, Megumi!" A succession of blasts made the ship rock back and forth and flung Kiyone's mother out of her seat.

"Kiyone—!" Both her mother and father cried before one tremendous explosion caused the television screen to abruptly go blank and fuzzy with static.

The girls on the couch gasped with horror, but otherwise, the room stayed silent. Tenchi's eyes widened, and he looked back and forth from the projector screen to the Kiyone lying prone on the table in front of him.

The speakers blared to life after an unbearably long silence as the young Kiyone questioned with terror creeping steadily into her voice, "Mom? Dad?" Then suddenly, the voices of the young and old Kiyone coincided as the officer's eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, sending nodes flying and causing Washu's machine to smoke while she screamed.

Kiyone's piercing cry filled the room as her heart broke all over again.


	2. No Need for a Clue!

For a while there I was thinking I'd never get to post the next chapter! Ah well, no complaints. Anyway, I really want to thank you all for the absolutely splenderific reviews! Oh, and I think I'll stick with the "post after five reviews" thing, if that's all right with you all… -sweat drop-

My unofficial disclaimer: Sorry in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivance/clichés. Also, I'm sorry if the particular pairing in here isn't your cup of tea. Um, did I get it all? XD

And without further ado, I present to you: Chapter Two!

-2-

"Wh—What's going on here?" Kiyone spoke slowly as she stared around at all of the occupants of the room. She then placed her head in her hands and shook it softly, as if to dispel the memory from her mind that she had tried to forget for so long.

Washu and Ryoko looked ashamedly away, and Mihoshi and Sasami's eyes welled up with tears. Tenchi tried to hold back his own tears as he placed his head in his hands as well. Feelings of guilt and sadness washed over him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself for a long time.

"Kiyone," Ayeka began as grief seeped into her gentle voice, "I'm so sorry—"

"I don't need your pity!" Kiyone spat out furiously as she stood up with shaking fists by her sides. She gritted her teeth vehemently while trying to suppress her own tears. With an infuriated shake of her head, Kiyone rapidly made her way out of the room as everybody else stared after her morosely.

The room stayed silent for a short time while all of its occupants tried to make sense of the terrible images they had just seen. After a moment, Tenchi stood up abruptly and said in a dangerously quiet voice with his head turned from everybody, "We have just done a horrible, _horrible_ thing. We shouldn't have stayed in here and watched that." Without another word, he too ran out of the room.

Tenchi quickly wiped a tear off with his finger as he sprinted out of the house. He couldn't bear the broken Kiyone he just saw, and he knew he'd do anything in his power to help piece her together again. Luckily, he knew exactly where she was heading.

Tenchi came to a halt after he broke through the trees into the clearing where the Juraian Tree stood majestically in its crystalline pond. Sure enough, Kiyone sat beneath it with her arms hugging her legs towards her. He carefully made his way over the stepping-stones before coming to a stop in front of the silently sobbing woman.

He stood quietly before her for a moment with worry etched into his features as he took in the sight of her bowed head and shaking shoulders. To make his presence known to the oblivious woman, he gently remarked, "I thought I might find you here. I've noticed that you've been coming here a lot lately."

Kiyone looked up with surprise at the young man standing in front of her before softly replying with her head turned away from him, "Please, Tenchi. I really don't want to talk right now."

"We don't have to talk," he answered promptly as he sat down beside her and looked towards her, "but I did want to let you know that I'm truly sorry we invaded your privacy like that. We had no right to be there."

Kiyone shook her head and replied, "Don't worry about it; it doesn't matter." She continued to stare away from the young man sitting beside her and fell silent again.

Tenchi nodded gratefully while shifting his gaze to take in the crystal-clear waters of the pond, and he said nothing more either.

They sat in the smothering silence for a long time, and the quiet seemed to hang in the air above them. After a while, Kiyone sighed sadly and looked over at Tenchi.

"You know, for a long time I was convinced that they were alive," she spoke listlessly. Tenchi looked at her, surprised that she had opened up, but he didn't dare speak. "I mean; they were the best of the best, you know? I figured they had made some daring escape and were on their way home. But then a patrolling squad found the remnants of their ship."

Kiyone looked down as tears formed in the corners of her eyes, but she pressed on with her story. "I didn't speak for weeks, literally. I walked from class to class without uttering a word. At first, my superiors tried to get me to open up, but they eventually gave up after I'd just stare at them."

She then looked out at the water and said with a bitter laugh and a shake of her head, "Mihoshi appointed herself as my new best friend immediately. She filled the void of my silence with her incessant talking." Kiyone laughed humorlessly once more and turned to face Tenchi. "After three weeks of listening to her endless chattering, I suddenly threw my books down to the floor in the middle of the hallway, grabbed her by the neck, and shook her while I screamed, 'shut up!'"

They both chuckled at this and stared out at the pond as the sound echoed above the water. Once their laughter died down, the clearing fell silent once more. However, this was a comfortable silence rather than the oppressive one from before.

Suddenly, Kiyone stood up and reached a hand down to help Tenchi up. As he grasped it, she squeezed his hand tenderly and said with a small smile, "Thanks for listening, Tenchi." He beamed in return, and they then began making their way back to the house.

Kiyone's heart was still heavy with sorrow, but she realized that Tenchi had helped her begin the process of overcoming it. I can't believe it's taken me _thirteen_ years to start to come to terms with their deaths, she thought with a bit of wonder. And I can't believe Mihoshi's idiocy led me to finally shed the tears that I've held back for so long. She felt a sweat drop form on her head in response to that thought.

When they had broken through the trees into the clearing where the Masaki house stood, Tenchi stopped and turned to face her. "I want to let you know that I'll do everything in my power to keep you from being sad, Kiyone," Tenchi told her seriously, "I don't ever want to see you cry again." He then flashed her a quick grin before heading off to the house while Kiyone stood still and watched him.

He's such a good kid, she thought with a smile of her own. Then she amended that thought, No, I take that back; he's a good man. With a slight flush of her cheeks, Kiyone tried to keep her thoughts from going astray as she followed after him to the house.

Oh, who am I kidding? The teal-haired woman groused to herself as she stared at his back. Of course I have feelings for him. I'd have to be blind, deaf, _and_ dumb to resist his charms.

I'd be crazy to act on those feelings though, she continued glumly. Not only is he possibly the most powerful person in the universe, but he's also got _two_ gorgeous girls fighting for his attention.

So it's probably just a minor crush, right? She then added as she began to feel ridiculous, a minor crush that's lasted a year…?

The policewoman's internal musings were interrupted when a distraught Sasami attempted to greet her when she entered the house. She frantically bowed and spluttered, "Kiyone, I'm so sorry about what happened! I mean; I'm not sorry about your parents—even though I really am. But I don't want you to feel like I feel sorry _for_ you, and I'm sorry about well…watching it?" Sasami ended her outburst with a confused expression on her face and asked, "D, do you understand my meaning?"

Kiyone laughed and ruffled the young girl's hair with her hand. "Quite frankly," she began, "I have _no_ idea what you just said, but please don't worry. You're fine, Sasami."

A relieved grin split on the princess's and she bowed one more time while answering, "Thank you so much, Kiyone!" She then turned and headed towards the kitchen while grumbling, "Well, I better get back to the grind. Lunch doesn't cook itself, you know."

Sasami was in the doorframe when she turned around suddenly and exclaimed, "Oh, I'm supposed to tell you that Washu wants to see you! She said it was important." With a shrug, the overworked princess entered the kitchen, leaving Kiyone alone in the living room.

I wonder what she wants to see me about, the police officer mused while making her way towards the pint-sized professor's lab. I suppose she wants to see if I regained all of my memories.

"Ah, Kiyone," Washu cried once the teal-haired woman entered the lab. "I rarely—well, never actually—say sorry, but I really want to apologize for my behavior. Normally I'd say it's all in the name of science, but I realized I took it way too far, and I'm sorry." Washu then made a deep bow, even for her miniscule height.

The police officer smiled and waved her off, "Geez, I've been hearing a lot of that lately! Seriously, what's done is done."

"So I'm forgiven?" Washu asked confusedly.

Kiyone gave her a reassuring grin and replied, "Yes, of course."

Washu wiped the sweat off her brow and sighed in relief. She then turned around promptly and began to type on her computer as she sat in a chair that had materialized beneath her. "Well now that _that's_ out of the way, I really did have something important to tell you." An image of her parents on the ship appeared on a large projector screen, and Kiyone's eyes widened as her heart gave a painful lurch.

"I'm sorry to bring this image up, and I promise I'm going to delete it," the pink-haired professor apologized without turning from her computer, "but there's something _really_ important that I thought I'd show you." Kiyone averted her gaze from the screen and gave a slow nod.

"Here it is," Washu stated after she hit one more key. The screen zoomed in closer and closer to an area left of Megumi's shoulder. It finally rested on a small mirror that the teal-haired woman hadn't noticed before. Washu then pressed another button, and the image in the mirror proceeded to take up the whole screen before them.

"What? What is this?" Kiyone gasped as the reflection in the mirror enlarged on the screen. "But that's, that's a Juraian ship!"

The genius scientist rested her chin on her fist and hit a key with the other. A piece of paper wafted down from the ceiling, and she grabbed it as it floated past. She then stared at the printout of the imposing Juraian battleship with a questioning gaze and a furrowed brow.

After staring at it for a moment, she spoke, "Honestly, Kiyone, I have _no_ idea what it means. But trust me when I say I'm going to look into the matter extensively. Of course I'm interested in it because of my ridiculously insatiable curiosity about everything and their mother, but mostly I want to do this for you."

She offered the paper to Kiyone, and the still-stunned woman grabbed it tentatively. Washu nodded reassuringly, "Don't worry, we'll get to the bottom of this—for your parents' sakes." With that, Washu turned back to her keyboard and resumed her perpetual typing.

Kiyone made her way out of the lab in a daze while she stared at the picture of the ship that had killed her parents. She walked past the bathroom as it opened up, and she turned to see Ayeka, Ryoko, and Mihoshi coming out.

"Oh, Kiyone!" Mihoshi cried as her eyes welled up with tears in preparation for one of her wailing sessions. "You're all right!" The ditzy woman hugged her hard and proceeded to squeeze the life out of her.

The beleaguered woman carefully untangled herself from Mihoshi without a glance towards her. She purposely strode towards Ayeka and asked determinedly, "Ayeka, may I have a word?"

"Why, of course, Kiyone," the princess responded somewhat apprehensively. Ryoko shrugged and phased out of the room, and Mihoshi went off in the direction of Washu's lab muttering something about finding a toy to play with, having forgotten all about her partner ignoring her.

The policewoman and the princess sat down on the fluffy pink couch and Ayeka began, "Kiyone, I really want to apologize for my dreadful behavior." Then, she added heatedly, "Of course I'm not surprised Ryoko invaded your privacy like that, but—"

"Really, Ayeka; it's fine. I'm fine," Kiyone interrupted before she could begin one of her tirades denouncing Ryoko, with whom the princess associated all things unholy. "I actually just wanted to ask you if you recognize this ship at all." She held up the piece of paper for Ayeka to see, and the purple-haired woman began studying it.

After a moment, she replied apologetically, "I'm terribly sorry, but I honestly can't say that I've seen that ship before. Why do you ask?"

Kiyone looked away and answered listlessly, "Washu concluded that that was the ship that destroyed my parents." The woman was surprised when Ayeka abandoned her composed and proper pretenses as she hugged her fiercely.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the princess said sympathetically while still embracing her. "Why would a Juraian battleship do such a horrendous thing?"

Kiyone began to get up and replied with a resolute air, "That's what I'm trying to find out. Thank you for your help." She stood up and started towards the door when Ayeka stopped her.

"Wait, Kiyone," the purple-haired woman called meekly, "I—well I, I just wanted to let you know that I really do know what you're going through. I lost my father when I was very young too, and I'll be here if you need someone to talk to." Kiyone smiled appreciatively at the normally snobbish princess's compassion.

"Well, on second thought, I may not be the best person to talk to," Ayeka continued, "because I really never cared for the man very much anyway—neither did the throne." She covered her mouth with a hand, surprised at her for revealing such information to someone that she rarely spoke to. "Oh my, please forget I said that!"

Kiyone sat back down and placed a hand on the princess's shoulder. "Why didn't you like him very much?" She asked in a tone that suggested she wasn't trying to pry.

"Please don't get me wrong, Kiyone! It's not that I hated him or that he ever did anything to me, Heaven forbid!" Ayeka began frantically, "I don't really know how to explain it, quite honestly, but I always seemed to get an ominous feeling around him. And of course, as I said, the throne absolutely _detested_ the man."

"The…throne?" Kiyone blinked as she asked with a confused tone. "What do you mean by that?"

The princess regarded the woman's bewildered expression with a puzzled one of her own before realization hit her. "Oh, of course! Sorry, I know that sounded like nonsense," she apologized, "that _is_ something most people don't know about."

Kiyone nodded, waiting for her to continue. "Well, a lesser-known facet of the Jurai power is the ability to hear trees' thoughts. It only works with Juraian trees, of course." Ayeka explained. "I happen to have a more developed sense of it than others, so I could even hear the throne's thoughts." She placed a hand to her mouth and giggled, "Oh my, you should have heard that poor throne's indignant rants about the 'jackass with the fat ass!' Please excuse my language, of course."

The policewoman and the princess shared a conspiratorial laugh, and Kiyone stood up once more. With a small smile, she said appreciatively, "Thank you very much, Ayeka; you've been a great help. If you'll excuse me." She then made her way out of the door. The purple-haired woman waved after her and returned the grin with one of her own, realizing that the talk had somehow helped her a great deal as well.

——————

"I feel so stupid," Kiyone muttered to herself when she realized that she was about to try to listen to a _tree_. The police officer was standing in front of the majestic Juraian Tree, staring up at it with a foot tapping quickly in frustration.

Well, here goes nothing, she thought while feeling completely ridiculous and wondering why she was even bothering. Kiyone walked up to the tree and shrugged in resignation before touching her forehead lightly against the ancient bark. She stood with her eyes closed like that for a few moments, but soon one of her eyes began to twitch as irritation bubbled up inside of her.

What the _hell_ am I doing? Kiyone groused with growing impatience. Why in hell am I trying to hear a freaking _tree_? What could have possibly possessed me to test this idiotic theory?

However, her inner grumbling ceased immediately when the tree took the liberty to answer her.


	3. No Need for a Confession!

'K, I'll admit it; this whole five review thing was pretty dumb… . I'm giving that policy the boot, and I'll just update every couple of days or so. XD

Anyway, I wanted to thank all of the lovely, lovely reviews I've gotten! You all frequently make my day. -

My unofficial disclaimer: Sorry in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivance/clichés. Also, I'm sorry if the particular pairing in here isn't your cup of tea. This is where things start to heat up, so I'm pretty darn sure at least one person is gonna cry, "Gah, Out-of-Character-ness, Out-of-Character-ness!"

-Sweat drop-

Well, without further ado, I present to you: Chapter Three!

-3-

_Hey now, I don't appreciate being spoken to like that!_ The great Juraian tree rebuked in a voice that sounded inexorably similar to a male version of Mihoshi by some cruel twist of fate. A look somewhere between disbelief and horror crossed Kiyone's face, and she fell back on her rear end in astonishment.

"Wh—what?" The terrified officer cried out frantically. "You're a _tree_! Trees don't talk!"

The seemingly oblivious tree ignored her comment and continued, _Actually, I take that back. I appreciate anybody speaking to me at all!_

Kiyone stood up, staggered towards the tree, and placed a hand on its bark to steady her wobbly legs. After taking a few deep breaths and muttering a mantra that sounded suspiciously like a rapid repetition of the words, "I'm not crazy," the hysterical police officer relaxed considerably. "This is probably just a hallucination induced by stress," she explained convincingly to herself.

Kiyone jumped back a few feet in shock as the tree spoke inside of her head once more, _Um, are you all right? You seem…a little crazy, to put it bluntly…_

"I am _not _crazy!" She screamed back at it, before amending, "I happen to have arguments with trees _all_ the time, thank you very much!" For a second, she vaguely wondered if there was a sturdy axe or chainsaw in the near vicinity. After the vision of her standing victorious over the fallen tree while cackling maniacally passed from her mind, she asked with a slightly confused expression on her face, "Just out of curiosity, how _am_ I talking to you?"

_Well, I really don't know, to tell you the truth,_ the tree answered apologetically. _Though you aren't the first, by any means. That old man used to come down to talk to me all the time, and that somewhat disturbing girl with the purple hair comes for a chat every once in a while._

Kiyone nodded to signify her understanding, and then she dimly wondered if the tree had eyes.

_It really is great to talk to someone new, you know,_ the tree continued conversationally. _It does get rather lonely out here…all by myself…with no one else to talk to._

The now apprehensive policewoman began to back away slowly while muttering, "I bet, you freakin' psycho tree." She cried out in shock as someone tapped her on the shoulder, and nearly blew Tenchi's head off with her gun as she rounded on him with a terrified expression.

Tenchi stumbled back in shock and nearly fell into the pond before catching his balance by waving his arms around frantically. The hapless boy let out a relieved sigh and remarked, "Wow, for a second there, I thought I was going to end up headless _and_ drenched."

"Tenchi," Kiyone stammered while holstering her weapon, "I, I'm really sorry about that!"

He waved her off and replied, "Nah, don't worry about it. I was just coming out here to get some peace and quiet. Who were you talking to, by the way?"

"Ah, nobody, nobody at all!" Kiyone giggled nervously while struggling to not stare at the tree behind her.

Tenchi nodded, and asked in an effort to break the silence that had quickly descended upon them, "Hey, why _have_ you been coming to this old tree so much recently?"

"Well," the policewoman began while pointedly glaring up at the tree, "it _used_ to relax me." Tenchi blinked in bewilderment as the normally composed woman lowered one of her eyelids with a finger and stuck her tongue out at the tree.

Another awkward silence fell upon them after that, and the teal-haired woman tried to start a conversation by teasing, "Peace and quiet, eh? Don't you mean an escape from the two ticking time bombs—aptly named Ayeka and Ryoko—that have the tendency to explode whenever you're in their vicinity?"

Tenchi sighed and looked away, and Kiyone realized she had said the wrong thing. She quickly apologized, "Oh, Tenchi, I'm sorry. I know it has to drive you nuts." Kiyone shook her head, angry with herself for her tactlessness. She looked away also and remarked softly, "And here I am always dumping my problems on you."

"That's not true!" Tenchi responded quickly. "I want to help you in any way possible! It's just my whole situation is so…" At a loss for words, he threw his arms up in the air and sighed in frustration.

"C'mon," Kiyone persuaded as she sat down and patted the ground next to her, "it's your turn to vent." She gave him an encouraging smile, and he flopped down next to her resignedly.

"Well," he began wearily, "you wouldn't believe how much time I've spent juggling back and forth between the two of them. I've kept them waiting for so long…and I've been trying to force myself to come to a decision."

Tenchi paused for a moment and looked at Kiyone, who gave him a sympathetic smile; a smile that also held a bit of sadness and nervousness within it. He blinked in confusion at this before sighing and pressing on, "And after all this time…I, well, I…I don't think I love either of them." The woman next to him gasped at this, and he stopped for a moment before continuing doggedly, "I know, I know; I'm being horribly selfish! It's just that I—yes, I know this sounds nuts—don't think Ayeka or Ryoko love me either. I feel like I'm more of a…I don't know, more of a prize to be won in that crazy game of theirs."

"I'm so sorry you feel that way," Kiyone interjected compassionately. She placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically and was slightly surprised when he grabbed it with his own hand.

Well, here goes nothing, Tenchi thought grimly to himself. He turned to face her completely, and began with a determined air, "I think I'd prefer to be with someone who was much more reliable and dependable, quite honestly. Someone who wouldn't fly off the handle with the drop of a pen." Kiyone nodded slowly, slightly confused and almost hopeful at his firmness. "Kiyone, I think I'd like to be with someone like—"

The aggravating sound of Kiyone's Galaxy Police signal watch blared to life rudely, completely throwing them both off guard and effectively interrupting Tenchi.

"Oh, crap! Sorry, Tenchi, but it looks like we're gonna have to cut our conversation short," Kiyone apologized lightly while crying like a little girl on the inside, "but we can continue this later, 'k?" Tenchi numbly nodded and dropped his head in exasperation as Kiyone stood up abruptly.

Without another word, they quickly made their way back to the house, and the teal-haired woman began to call out for Mihoshi with growing irritation. "Damn it, where the _hell_ is Mihoshi?" Tenchi waved his hands as if trying to put out a growing flame that was burning beneath Kiyone, and beads of sweat appeared on his head while he thought, So much for not flying off the handle...

The policewoman was about to begin another round of screaming when the door to the lab swung open suddenly. An infuriated Washu stomped out and came to a halt in front of Kiyone, who suddenly felt apprehension bubble up inside of her.

Both of the pint-sized professor's arms were crossed behind her back, and her foot was tapping rapidly while a vein throbbed on her temple. "Kiyone," she forced out with excruciating slowness through gritted teeth, "I think I've made it _painfully_ obvious that I want your partner to _stay out of my lab_." Without further ado, Washu whipped one of her hands from behind her back, revealing a miniscule Mihoshi that she held by the collar of her shirt with her pointer finger and thumb.

"Hi, Kiyone!" The pipsqueak blonde called out in a high-pitched voice while she giggled nervously and scratched the back of her head. She couldn't have been more than six-inches tall.

Immediately, Tenchi and Kiyone felt their lower jaws fall to the floor, but the incensed officer recovered quickly. "Mihoshi," she growled dangerously. Kiyone began to clench and unclench her fists slowly as fleeting visions of crushing the idiotic blonde with her bare hands crossed through her mind. The now-terrified Mihoshi began to hug Washu's finger fiercely as she began to wail.

Kiyone quickly amended her mumbling mantra from something that sounded oddly like, "It would be so easy, so very easy," to "Think of your career, think of your career." After practicing a few breathing exercises, she promptly turned on her heel and began to walk out the door, calling after her with surprising calmness, "Alright, I'm gonna have to answer the call we got on my own. If it's not too much of an inconvenience, could you please fix Mihoshi, Washu?"

The beleaguered scientist turned on her heel as well and stamped back to her lab while muttering dark and unintelligible things. She held the suddenly chipper Mihoshi in the palm of her hand, and it seemed like her fingers shook and tightened a little, as if she contemplated squishing the nuisance who managed to stumble through all of security measures protecting her lab from the outside world. After all, Washu thought vehemently, it would save me a whole lot of cleaning up…

Tenchi frantically looked back and forth from Kiyone and Washu, who had both left him standing there. He sighed with exasperation and mumbled, "Women." After a moment, he ran outside after the quickly retreating Kiyone. "Hey, wait a minute!" He called while raising an arm after her. "Why don't I just come along with you, huh?"

Kiyone stopped in her tracks and turned to stare at Tenchi with a confused expression. "Why would you want to do that, Tenchi? It'll be really boring," she replied before adding with an irritated sigh, "Probably just another busted reactor or something stupid like that."

"Well I, uh, would really like to go," he stumbled lamely while poking his two pointer fingers together. "Uh, please?"

Kiyone scratched her cheek and looked at him as a mix of hope, bewilderment, and fear crossed her features before replying, "But it's against protocol…" However, she had the tremendously bad luck to get Tenchi's rarely used kicked-puppy face, and her resolve faltered as a sweat drop grew on her forehead.

"Please?" The secretly scheming boy implored pathetically while his puppy dog eyes were trained on Kiyone with maximum force.

——————

Later on, after Kiyone's prediction of being forced to fix a busted reactor came to pass, the exhausted police officer sprawled out on one of the seats in the Yagami's bridge. Her half-lidded eyes stared absentmindedly at the vast space spread out before them, and then she glanced over at Tenchi, who was twiddling his thumbs anxiously. What the heck is his problem? She thought dimly, but the thought quickly passed from her mind as dreams of warm baths and drowning Mihoshi took its place.

"Good, it shouldn't take us too much longer to get back," Kiyone muttered contentedly. She then stood up and began to head for the door while remarking without turning, "Excuse me for a sec, Tenchi. I just have to get out of these nasty clothes." Then she added as an afterthought while standing in the doorframe, "Though I s'pose it wouldn't be a complete day for me if I didn't end up drenched in oil or some other putrid substance. Surprisingly, it wasn't Mihoshi who spilled something on me for once! What a shocker." She laughed humorlessly while shaking her head before stopping as the door behind her slid back open.

Kiyone turned to see a grim-faced Tenchi with a determined look in his eyes. She blinked with bewilderment and began to say, "Tenchi, what are you—?" However, her question was effectively interrupted as the young man wrapped his arms around her and firmly kissed her on the lips. The teal-haired woman was caught completely off-guard, and her arms flailed wildly in surprise.

"Tenchi!" She cried out in astonishment while gasping for breath once they had parted. "W—what was that for?"

He efficiently interrupted her once more when he gently placed a finger on her lips to quiet her. "Kiyone," he murmured softly while staring intently in her eyes, "you're compassionate, intelligent, and beautiful. These past couple of months, as I came to the realization that I didn't love either Ayeka _or_ Ryoko, my feelings for you grew. I'm sorry if this seems so sudden."

Tenchi stopped and began to search her face while waiting for a reply. "B, but, Tenchi," Kiyone stuttered, aghast. He grimaced and looked away, internally bashing himself over the head with the Common Sense stick for his forwardness and stupidity.

Kiyone turned his head with her hands and stammered as her cheeks grew increasingly pinker, "It's uh…It's not like I, um…don't uh…feel the same way." Realizing how amazingly unintelligible she sounded, she took a deep breath and began anew, "Look, Tenchi; you don't want to be with someone like me! I mean, c'mon, I've buried my emotions for _thirteen_ flipping years under mountains of pointless responsibilities, pretending that it was perfectly normal to just have a work life and no, uh …love life." She finished lamely as embarrassment welled up inside of her.

Kiyone noticed that she still had Tenchi's face in her hands and quickly withdrew them while turning away. She began to scratch her cheek fretfully and continued, "Besides, I'm like five years older than you, and I'm constantly leaving for space without any warning when I get a call!" Then she added as an afterthought, "Plus, I'm not suicidal…"

Tenchi, who had been silent for all of Kiyone's rambling, copied her and turned her head with his hands. "Look, how about I save us a lot of time and trouble by saying that I don't care about any of those things, _any_ of them." He stared into her hopeful eyes and pressed on, "And we could uh…keep it low-key for a while, y'know? Trust me, unlike what popular opinion may suggest, I am _definitely_ no debonair suitor. I'm new to this all too." He flushed and grinned embarrassingly at his confession.

"But, I don't think I could really hold up against the competition, y'know what I mean?" Kiyone said with a shudder as images of a cackling Ayeka and Ryoko standing triumphantly over her grave came to mind.

Tenchi frowned as similar thoughts passed through his head and replied, "Well, I know it's utterly ridiculous how I've been stringing them along for so long now, and it's just about time that I admit that the feeling isn't mutual with either of them. Look, how 'bout I break the news by the end of the week? And until then, we can just be really discreet about it…" Beads of sweat appeared on his head and he asked, "Does that make me sound like a complete coward?"

Kiyone shook her head quickly in response, and a relieved grin broke out on her face. "Not at all," she murmured before placing the light kiss on his lips that she had been dreaming of for so long.

——————

"Where have _you_ two been?" Ryoko growled suspiciously as she floated towards Kiyone and Tenchi, who had just entered the house.

Sasami looked up from the couch where everybody was sitting and piped in, "Yeah, you both missed dinner!" As an afterthought, she muttered indignantly under her breath, "And a pretty darn good one too, if I say so myself…"

Mihoshi, who had thankfully been returned to her proper height, exclaimed, "Kiyone, I've missed you!" The blonde jumped up from the couch and proceeded to squeeze the life out of Kiyone once more. At least she doesn't have a second head or anything, Kiyone mused resignedly. One incessantly chattering head is bad enough…

"Yes, what have you been up to, Tenchi?" Ayeka questioned while struggling to keep her demure composure and not throttle Ryoko, who had latched on to Tenchi's back and was nuzzling her head against his shoulder.

Tenchi flushed and began to laugh nervously. He placed a hand behind his head and stammered, "Well, Yagami…and uh, busted reactor…and, y'know. This and that…"

Smooth, Tenchi, Kiyone thought while rolling her eyes. That was very smooth. Then she too began to giggle uneasily as multiple sets of eyes rested on her, including two sets that seemed to be contemplating various methods of torture.


	4. No Need for Revelations!

Well, here it is: the second-to-last chapter! Honestly, I can't believe I'm already nearing the end to the first story I've ever finished. And other than that, there's really not much to report…XD Oh, but I would like to thank the splendiferous people who've taken the time to leave a review!

My unofficial disclaimer: Sorry in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivance/clichés. Also, I apologize if the particular pairing in here isn't your cup of tea. I'm pretty sure I'm starting to take some serious liberties with the original plot by now, so I just wanted to warn you…-sweat drops-

And without further ado, I present to you: Chapter Four!

-4-

"Welcome to Hamburger Heaven! May I take your order?" Kiyone asked in a voice sweet enough to induce cavities while she plastered her fake smile on her face with practiced ease. It had been a week since that night on the Yagami, and the young woman still felt like she was floating on the proverbial cloud.

Kiyone opened her eyes to take the customer's order and promptly wished she hadn't. She had the feeling that she was talking to an enormous pig that had somehow managed to master the abilities of standing on two legs and speaking. The hapless woman involuntarily shuddered when she realized that three of her could probably fit in his gigantic stomach.

"Yes, I'll have four Biggie Burgers with ketchup, lettuce, tomatoes, anchovies if you have them, mayonnaise, onions, radishes, pickles, tartar sauce would be lovely, mustard, chocolate chips, and extra bacon." The gargantuan man reeled off rapidly while counting off on his sausage-like fingers.

Kiyone's lower jaw fell to the floor, and she had to bite her tongue before she remarked sarcastically, "You do realize that bacon is probably a relative of yours…" Instead, she inquired in her much-too exuberant voice that she saved for her mindless service industry jobs, "Uh, would you like fries with that, sir?"

She grunted with effort when she handed the customer his order because it was in the equivalent of a brown paper grocery-bag. The man daintily ate a single French fry with his pinkie finger extended, nodded curtly, and marched off with his arms hugging the humongous bag of heart attacks-on-buns.

Kiyone sighed in relief as the stream of customers dwindled and rested her chin on her fist. Her thoughts drifted to the events of the past week, and she involuntarily blushed. Gah, she reprimanded herself, I'm acting like some silly schoolgirl! The embarrassed policewoman shook her head to clear her head of the childish thoughts, but she couldn't help but think of all the secret glances she and Tenchi had stolen to look at each other and the quick, innocent kisses they had shared after being positively certain that no one was watching. However, her fondest memories were of their talks with each other after everyone had gone to bed. Kiyone had never been a very open person, but she found it remarkably easy to share her dreams, aspirations, and fears freely with Tenchi.

C'mon, get a _hold_ of yourself, Kiyone! The teal-haired woman internally scolded herself. I haven't had these sorts of ridiculous thoughts since…Her eyes widened in shock as she realized just how easily she placed the thoughts of her parents' deaths to the back of her mind. How stupid of me, she thought furiously, I _completely_ forgot!

Kiyone gritted her teeth, frustrated at herself for forgetting what should have been the most important issue on her mind. I haven't made _any_ progress since that whole thing with that tree. Wait a minute…

Her inner-musings were cut short, however, when the bell signaling that someone had entered the restaurant went off. She quickly straightened up and had just positioned her phony smile on her face when she saw who it was.

"Tenchi!" Kiyone exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The young man who had just walked in grinned wryly and replied with a laugh, "Well, it's great to see you too!" He rested his arms on the counter and leaned over, placing a quick peck on Kiyone's cheek.

"Oh, you know that's not what I mean," she sighed exasperatedly while rolling her eyes. "It's just…someone could see, y'know? Mihoshi might see us together..." Beads of sweat formed on both of their heads as they looked over at the flailing blonde who was trying to get used to roller skates. Kiyone idly thought that it probably wasn't the best of ideas to find a job that required workers to deliver food orders on wheels. Both of them winced in sympathy as Mihoshi screamed and flew into a wall at top-speed.

"Well, anyway," Tenchi began, trying to distract Kiyone who was growing increasingly angrier at her inept partner's antics, "To answer your first question: I was on my way back from school and I, quite frankly, _had_ to see you."

Kiyone smiled and blushed slightly, but she tried to cover it up by saying sarcastically, "Geez, you can't make it a single day without seeing my beautiful visage, can you?"

"Nope," Tenchi answered simply before kissing the tip of Kiyone's nose.

They both had descended deep into the depths of playful banter when someone coughed angrily beside them. Kiyone grinned and giggled nervously as she caught sight of her manager seething next to her with a foot tapping rapidly and a vein throbbing. The hapless woman stammered to come up with a plausible explanation and the infuriated manager was just about to begin a tirade when a shrieking Mihoshi interrupted them both.

The blonde came flying towards Tenchi with a tray of food held high in one hand while the other flapped wildly. "W—w, watch out!" She screamed, but the collision was imminent. Suddenly, the clumsy blonde tripped and came hurtling through the air while the tray went flying.

With deft precision and smoothness, Tenchi plucked the wailing girl out of the air with one arm, caught the tray with the other, and glanced over at Kiyone and said lightly, "Yes, I'd like seven Biggie Burger meals and two Happy-Fun-Sunshine meals, please."

——————

"Hello everybody; I'm back!" Tenchi called out as he walked in the house while he struggled mightily to keep hold of the large bags filled with food.

Ryoko, who was sprawled out on a couch watching the latest convoluted episode of her and Ayeka's favorite soap opera, immediately phased out and reappeared on Tenchi's back. "I've missed you so much, Tenchi!" However, the extra, unexpected weight caused the luckless boy to topple over, sending the bags of food flying. The space pirate, as it so coincidentally turned out, fell on top of him in a rather indecent position. "Oh, Tenchi, not out here in the open!" She cried while pretending to be scandalized.

"Ryoko, get off of Lord Tenchi this instant!" Ayeka shouted furiously with shaking fists as she stomped over to them. She didn't hesitate to kick the space pirate over ferociously, but any viciousness disappeared instantly as she politely helped Tenchi up. That didn't last long, however, as she promptly stuck her tongue out at Ryoko who was currently blowing her a raspberry.

"Now girls," Tenchi sighed exasperatedly while stooping over to pick up the dropped bags. He looked up to see Sasami walk in from the kitchen, and he called to her, "Hey Sasami, I went out and bought us all some hamburgers for dinner. I hope that's ok."

Sasami waved him off and replied cheerfully, "Oh, of course it is, Tenchi!"

"You weren't making anything for dinner, were you?" He asked concernedly.

The young princess waved him off once more and answered, "Don't worry about it!" However, when she turned and headed back into the kitchen she muttered sarcastically under her breath, "I only went out of my way to prepare a gourmet meal, but who cares about that? I'm sure that sordid excuse for food will be absolutely wonderful."

Beads of sweat appeared on Tenchi's forehead as he caught strains of the princess's dark muttering and turned to face a suddenly suspicious Ayeka and Ryoko. "Girls, what is it?" He tried to ask while keeping the quavering out of his voice.

"You rarely bring hamburgers home, so we do find it quite odd," the purple-haired princess remarked while tapping a foot lightly.

Tenchi stammered while trying to come up with an excuse, "W—what do you mean? I just thought I'd do something nice and—"

"Hey Ayeka, doesn't Kiyone work at some hamburger joint?" Ryoko asked warily, despite the fact that she already knew the answer.

The princess nodded and replied, "Yes, I believe she does…quite strange, isn't it?"

"What does Kiyone have anything to do with this? She has nothing—" Tenchi was interrupted by a squealing Mihoshi who had just burst through the door with a worn out Kiyone shuffling behind her.

The blonde giggled and exclaimed, "Oh Tenchi, it was _so_ great to see you at work today! I tell you, if you hadn't saved me from falling, I don't know _what_ I would've done!" While Ayeka and Ryoko turned to look at Mihoshi, Tenchi and Kiyone slapped their foreheads at Mihoshi's loud mouth.

Tenchi groped for an excuse and spluttered, "Well you see, the thing is, I just happened to be in that part of town on my way back from school, and I thought I'd just pop in and say hi!"

"That's peculiar," Ayeka began slowly, "because I thought your school was on the complete other side of town. The princess and the space pirate turned to stare barbed, poisoned, and flaming daggers in Kiyone's direction.

Unfortunately, the beleaguered officer's brain functions were currently operating at extremely low levels, due largely to having to put up with Mihoshi's astounding amounts of stupidity all day while working a mind-numbing job for eight hours straight. Her brain had metaphorically sunken dejectedly to the bottom of her skull, so she didn't hear the warning bells go off when she suddenly announced absentmindedly, "Yeah, whatever; I'm going to take a bath."

They all blinked in surprise as they watched the oblivious woman teeter towards the bath. Mihoshi, who never stopped to think about potential problems, shrugged and made her way towards the couch with the intent of finding a television show to watch, preferably with bright colors and fuzzy animals. Tenchi stared dumbly after Kiyone, who had completely missed all of the fury directed onto her.

"Hey Ayeka, I suddenly feel like taking a bath too. What about you?" Ryoko asked while managing to keep her voice light and innocent.

The princess nodded in agreement and replied, "Yes, that sounds like an absolutely splendid idea, Miss Ryoko."

Oh geez, Tenchi thought and cringed as he watched them go, you might want to watch out, Kiyone.

——————

"Oh, that feels nice," the teal-haired woman murmured as she slipped into the scalding water. She slid down until she was completely submerged, blew a few bubbles through her nose idly, and resurfaced with a contented sigh. "There's nothing like a relaxing bath—" she began before the door to the baths opened suddenly, revealing Ayeka and Ryoko, who both struggled to keep neutral faces on.

The policewoman's senses finally began to kick in, and she gulped. Maybe coming in here alone wasn't such a good idea, she thought nervously. She warily eyed Ayeka and Ryoko as they slid in the water on either side of her while acting much too calmly for comfort.

"You and Tenchi have been getting quite close lately," Ayeka began conversationally in what was mean to be a light tone, though her facial expression suggested otherwise.

Realizing that she might as well make a futile attempt at ignorance, Kiyone responded just as coolly, "Really? I don't think I know what you mean, Ayeka."

"Don't play dumb!" Ryoko suddenly hissed. "We've seen how you two have been acting lately, and let me tell you—"

The princess interrupted in a reproachful tone, "Now Ryoko, there's no need for shouting." She then turned to Kiyone and continued evenly, "You must understand that Ryoko and I don't wish to be rivals for Tenchi's affections with you as well."

"I have _no _intention of doing that," the policewoman responded with what she hoped was a carefree laugh, "'cause I definitely wouldn't stand a chance up against you two in a fight."

Ayeka chuckled as well, but she then said seriously with narrowed eyes and a hardened expression on her face, "Exactly."

Kiyone's eyes narrowed as well, and she felt her fists begin to clench. The nerve of them! She seethed internally, and here I was thinking of the two of them as friends!

Ryoko patted her on the shoulder and added in an attempt at being comforting, "Look, it's nothing personal, but Ayeka and I both really love Tenchi. I mean, c'mon, there's plenty of fish in the sea and all that crap, right?"

"That's right!" The princess began, "And please don't get us wrong: we both have the utmost respect for you, but in all honesty, our love for Lord Tenchi is greater."

Kiyone startled the two women by suddenly standing up and walking off to the changing room. Without turning, she called over her shoulder in a listless voice, "Yeah, whatever."

After she had dried herself off and finished changing, Kiyone wordlessly left the baths. Everybody in the living room was engaged in a reality TV program, so nobody noticed her as she made her way to Washu's lab.

How dare they? The teal-haired woman fumed. I mean, _honestly!_ If they _really_ loved Tenchi, they'd just leave them the hell alone!

Kiyone took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves as she stood outside the lab. Whatever; that's not important right now. I can't believe I waited the whole week to do this…

The police officer knocked on the door, which immediately swung open. With one more deep breath, she walked in resolutely and called out, "Washu, I need to talk to you!" She jumped back in surprise as a door materialized out of nowhere, and a grinning Washu walked out.

"Ah, Kiyone, I've been waiting for you," the professor commented. "I wondered when you'd show up."

Not giving herself a chance to change her mind, the teal-haired woman blurted out, "Look, I'd like to take a genealogical test, if you don't mind."

The pint-sized professor smirked knowingly and replied, "It took you long enough to come up with that! I figured you'd be smart enough to figure it out on your own, but here we are a week later…"

"What?" Kiyone asked, dumbfounded. "What do you mean? How'd you know—" However, she stopped herself as a hula hoop-like ring attached to wires fell down from the ceiling and landed neatly around her. A bright light encased the startled woman suddenly, and it dispersed just as quickly.

"Washu, what _was_ that?" Kiyone cried as the ring rose back up to the ceiling. However, the mad scientist ignored her as she began to type on the keyboard that appeared at her fingertips.

"Just as I thought," Washu muttered to herself without looking up from the computer screen.

Kiyone growled in irritation and shouted, "He_llo_, could you please fill me in on whatever the hell is going on?" She hated being left out in the dark, but the professor didn't seem like she was going to give up any answers until she had built up enough suspense.

At that moment, all of the girls and Tenchi walked in the lab, and Tenchi called out, "Oh, Kiyone, I didn't know you were in here! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that your dinner's getting co—"

Finding that the suspense had been built up sufficiently, Washu effectively interrupted him when she turned to face Kiyone and bowed deeply, proclaiming almost reverently, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, princess."


	5. No Need for a Conclusion!

Wow. I know that's not the most eloquent thing to say, but that's honestly how I feel at this moment. It was the first word to pop into my head when I suddenly came to the realization that this is the last chapter of Lost and Found, the first story I have _ever_ finished. Don't worry; I won't get all teary on you, but still…wow.

I'd like to take a moment to thank all of my absolutely wonderful reviewers. I'm seriously not kidding when I say that you all have made my day!

Thank you Aoshi.fan90, Spaced Out Kitsune, cyberimp6, Psychodahlia, No Free Refills, Happy Mask Salesgirl, Nightcrawler2000, Xavier, Niyu Mizuke, and dave-in-exile. I really appreciate your support!

My unofficial disclaimer (though you probably know the drill by now…): Sorry in advance for any OOC-ness, liberties taken with the original plot, and/or contrivances/clichés. Also, I apologize if the particular pairing in here isn't your cup of tea. Oh, and sorry if I've completely butchered the original plot by now…-sweat drops-

I hope you all enjoy this last chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Without further ado, I present to you: The conclusion of Lost and Found.

-5-

"What?" Everybody cried out in unison, flabbergasted at Washu's sudden declaration.

"What are you talking about, Washu?" Tenchi asked, astounded. Kiyone's a princess? He thought dimly at the professor's announcement.

Ayeka broke in too, "Miss Washu, what _are_ you talking about?" They all stared at the scientist, impatiently waiting for a reply.

"Well," Washu began moodily, "if you'd just let me get a word in edge-wise, darn it!" Her irritation didn't last long, however, because she was too excited to hold out on reporting her findings. "After a bit of snooping around about the circumstances of Megumi and Kensuke's deaths, I found some pretty startling information."

She coughed in a slightly embarrassed way before continuing, "Anyway, to put it…um, gently, before Ayeka's grandfather was king of Jurai, he had a bit of a liaison with a commoner."

"What? What can you possibly mean?" Ayeka cut in quickly.

Ryoko doubled over as she laughed uproariously and answered, "It means he knocked up some chick, stupid." The princess began growling ferociously as she clenched her fists, planning to obliterate the space pirate on the spot. Ryoko wasted no time in rolling up her sleeves and spitting in her hands.

"Can I continue before you destroy any more of my lab?" Washu butted in with growing impatience. The two would-be combatants crossed their arms and turned away from each other while muttering darkly. "Now as I was saying before I was so _rudely _interrupted, Kiyone's father was born, and his mother took him away to keep him safe. However, that wasn't the end of it due to the strange nature of the Juraian throne."

Washu paused once more and looked away sadly before continuing, "You see the thing is, another safeguard the Jurai use for ascensions to the throne _is_ the throne itself. It refuses to accept the next in line until the rightful ruler has either abdicated or…died."

"Simply, Kiyone's bastard father was next in line for the throne, so his pureblooded half-brother—your father, Ayeka—killed him in order to be certain of gaining the throne."

Ayeka and Sasami covered their mouths with their hands, and the purple-haired princess whispered in disbelief, "No…it can't be." However, no one else in the room paid attention to them because they had all turned to look at Kiyone, who had silently stood off to the side with her back facing everyone the whole time.

All of the girls gasped in shock at the sight before them. Her shoulders and fists shook violently, yet she uttered no sound. However, the astonishing sight was of the powerful wind that fiercely blew her hair and clothes—a gale that only raged around her.

Kiyone's fists tightened and a green glow that sparked like fire suddenly emanated from her hands. "No," she muttered listlessly. She abruptly turned to the wall beside her and punched the wall screaming, "No!"

Immediately, Kiyone took off, pushed her way through the stunned girls, and ran out through the door. Everyone else remained frozen in place, staring with astonishment at the fist-sized hole in the wall.

Tenchi rapidly came to his senses and raced after the teal-haired woman, crying with alarm, "Kiyone!"

The others stood in a shocked silence before Washu eventually commented softly with wonder, "I suppose since she's now aware of the power she possesses, she'll be able to access it."

In a feeble attempt to lighten the mood, Ryoko remarked uncomfortably, "Well, I guess she stands one hell of a chance in a fight with us after all, eh Ayeka?"

——————

Tenchi broke through the trees, gasping for breath. He felt his heart jerk as he caught sight of Kiyone, who was hugging the Juraian tree for support as she sobbed. He hastily made his way over the stepping-stones and took her in his arms at once. The young man began rubbing circles on her back with his fingers as she grasped his shirt and cried into it.

Over and over again, she repeated in a voice muffled by his shirt, "It's not fair, it's not fair." The silence and stillness that slowly descended upon them was instantly broken as she suddenly screamed and pounded his chest with her fists, "He wouldn't have even wanted the throne!"

Without a word, Tenchi hugged her in his arms once more and resumed massaging her back. Kiyone growled in frustration and gripped his shirt while she asked, "Damn it, Tenchi, why are you so nice to me?"

The young man stepped back for a moment and rested his hands on her shoulders. He looked into her eyes with complete sincerity showing from his own as he answered simply, "Because, Kiyone Makibi, though it's only been a few months since I've had these feelings, I believe I've fallen in love with you."

"No, you can't!" The woman before him cried as she took a step back from him with a terrified expression on her face. She shook her head and looked down at the ground as she said listlessly, "You can't…I, I…my parents—"

"Your parents would want you to be happy, Kiyone," Tenchi interrupted her. "They'd want you to stop avoiding life…avoiding love." He came to her once more and rubbed the tears off her cheeks gently before placing an even gentler kiss on her lips.

As Tenchi took her by the hand and she reluctantly agreed to be led back to the house, Kiyone murmured in a barely audible voice, "Tenchi, thank you…" She wiped a stray tear off the corner of her eyelid, and a small smile came to her face.

——————

The next morning, breakfast was an intense affair. Kiyone and Mihoshi had stayed the night, and now everybody sat around the table for breakfast in an oppressive silence. Nobody had said anything throughout the whole meal as they determinedly kept their eyes on their plates.

Katsuhito, never one to be afraid to speak, broke the silence with a simple declaration. "Kiyone, we can't have you putting any more holes in the walls, so I'd like to teach you how to control your power."

Before he could continue, Ayeka broke in meekly, "Actually, Grandfather, if it's fine with you, I was hoping _I_ could teach Kiyone how to control the Jurai power." She nervously looked from Katsuhito to Kiyone before asking, "Is it?"

Katsuhito closed his eyes and nodded sagely, and the teal-haired woman eventually answered in a slightly apprehensive tone, "Sure."

After breakfast finally ended, everybody went their separate ways: Tenchi attempted to work in the garden, Ryoko went to harass Tenchi who attempted to work in the garden, Mihoshi plopped herself down on the couch to rot her remaining brain cells, and Sasami was inevitably left to clean up the dishes. Meanwhile, Ayeka led Kiyone upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her younger sister.

After the policewoman had entered and the princess closed the door, Kiyone rounded on her and coldly commented, "Look, if this is about your stupid throne, I don't want it." However, her anger instantly dissipated as Ayeka turned from the door with tears streaming down her face.

"I, I, I'm so sorry," the purple-haired woman timidly said. She tugged at the fabric of her dress and looked down at the floor as tears dripped from her nose toward the ground. She suddenly rushed over to an astounded Kiyone and grabbed her in a fierce embrace.

Not sure of what to do, the police officer hesitantly patted her on the shoulder while responding, "Please don't apologize, Ayeka; it's not your fault." In an attempt to lighten the mood, she said with an ironic smile, "'Sides, you said you never particularly cared for that 'jackass with the fat ass,' didn't you?"

Ayeka laughed through her tears, "Yes, I suppose you're right." She stood up, coughed embarrassingly, and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. The princess took a deep breath and then stated resolutely, "Right, now let's quit dallying around and get to work." She sat down with her legs tucked beneath her and crossed her hands demurely on her knees, and Kiyone tentatively followed suit.

"Alright, now close your eyes," the princess instructed.

The police officer blinked in confusion and asked, "Um, why?"

A bit of her old character returned, and Ayeka commanded with growing impatience, "Just listen to me, will you? I'm attempting to teach you how to reach the Jurai power—correctly."

They both sighed in unison, and Kiyone reluctantly complied. "Good," the princess remarked, "now let go of all of your extraneous thoughts and just focus on picturing a ball of light."

The teal-haired woman had a sneaking suspicion that Ayeka may have lost her mind somewhere along the line, yet she grudgingly followed her directions anyway. It took quite a while to stop her mind from wandering, but she eventually made herself think only about a globe of light.

"You see it?" Ayeka asked before Kiyone nodded with her eyes still closed in concentration. "Excellent, now for the difficult part. I want you to imagine it in your hands. Don't get discouraged if it takes you a while; it took me goodness knows how lo—"

The princess was interrupted from her rambling as a ball of green light suddenly appeared in the policewoman's cupped hands. Sweat was dripping from Kiyone's forehead due to the exertion, but the sphere only shimmered slightly and didn't disappear.

"Oh my goodness, you got it!" Ayeka exclaimed in shock and disbelief as she covered her mouth with her hands. Kiyone opened her eyes and gaped at the glowing light that floated slightly above her spread fingers.

The purple-haired woman quickly regained her composure and continued calmly, "Very good, Kiyone. Do you have control of it?"

"Um, I guess so," the police officer answered nervously without averting her gaze from the Jurai power currently resting in her hands.

Ayeka nodded approvingly and instructed, "Good, now I want you to relinquish control of it. Trust me; this is necessary in order to find out whether your power is offense or defense-oriented. If it's primarily defensive, it will immediately extend into a shield, and if it's offensive—"

The princess was cut off once more as a blast of energy grazed a few of her hairs and barely missed her head. With eyes wide with horror, she slowly turned her head to look back over her shoulder at the gaping hole in the wall. Ayeka turned back around even more slowly, gave a slight cough, and stated with an amazing degree of calmness, "Offensive it is. Well, I imagine you're getting tired, so how about we continue this later?"

Kiyone stood up and scratched her cheek embarrassingly. As she made her way to the door, she turned and said with a growing sweat drop, "Uh, sorry about that Ayeka." The teal-haired woman had just passed under the doorframe when the princess stopped her.

"Oh, and Kiyone," Ayeka began softly, "I…I just wanted to let you know that…I'm fine with you and Tenchi…" The words hung in the air for a moment, and the princess turned to the window and placed her hands on the windowsill as she added, "Now don't get me wrong, I still love Lord Tenchi dearly…but if you're the one who makes him happy…"

Kiyone stood and stared at the princess disbelievingly. After a moment, she muttered, "Thank you, Ayeka." Without another glance back, the police officer left the room and descended the stairs.

The teal-haired woman exited the house, intending to clear her thoughts and grab a bit of fresh air after the exertion it cost trying to summon the Jurai power. However, peace and quiet was not to be hers. She gasped in shock and flung herself out of the way of a large energy blast. Kiyone rolled on the ground and stared at Ryoko, who had suddenly appeared floating in the air above her.

The space pirate smirked and spat out, "C'mon _princess_, why don't you show me what you've got?" With a gulp, Kiyone drew out her gun and pointed it at Ryoko with unsteady hands. However, the police officer yelped in shock and pain as the space pirate shot it out of her hands with ease.

"Not like that," Ryoko admonished, "I wanna see that Jurai power of yours!" She suddenly lunged at Kiyone, who rolled out of the way of her fist just in time. This continued for a while; Ryoko charged after the police officer while flinging blasts as Kiyone desperately rolled, jumped, and dodged out of the way.

The police officer growled in frustration after she had flung herself out of the way in the nick of time once more and stood up determinedly. With one hand clenched at her side, Kiyone raised the other and leveled it at the quickly approaching Ryoko. She spread her fingers apart as she closed her eyes in concentration. Suddenly, a ball of bright green energy appeared at her fingertips, and she immediately fired it with a grin.

Her celebration was short-lived, however, because Ryoko batted it away with one arm while pretending to stifle a yawn with her other. "Come _on_, Kiyone! That _can't_ be the best you've got!" The space pirate reproached as she landed on the ground and rested her arms on her hips a couple of feet away from the panting woman.

Ryoko remarked with a sigh, "'K, I'm getting bored, so I guess it's time to finish this, eh?" Without warning, she shot off an enormous blast of energy. It barely missed Kiyone as it sailed inches above her while she fell backwards. With a piercing cry, the space pirate summoned her energy sword and lunged at the fallen woman.

"You better focus your mind and shape your power into a sword if you want to live!" Ryoko commanded while she leapt in the air to finish Kiyone off.

The terrified woman brought her hands up in a futile attempt to defend herself while the flying pirate was mere feet above her. The policewoman desperately struggled to fight the tears that were threatening to fall from her face. I will _not_ die a coward, she thought savagely. Kiyone squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth in concentration in one last effort to protect herself.

Suddenly, the sound of electricity filled her ears. Kiyone opened her eyes and gaped in shock. Ryoko was pressing down with her sword against the one that the astonished woman had miraculously summoned at the last instant. The energy crackled between them as Ryoko's yellow blade met with Kiyone's green one. Suddenly, the space pirate jumped back and landed a few feet from Kiyone while gasping for breath.

Ryoko wiped the sweat from her brow and chortled as she let her sword disappear. "That was _great_, Kiyone!" The policewoman blinked in utter confusion as the laughing woman continued, "God, who would have thought it, huh? We'll have you flying and teleporting with the best of 'em in no time flat!"

The space pirate abruptly stopped laughing and walked over to Kiyone. She reached out a hand to help the fallen woman up, and the teal-haired woman hesitantly accepted it. Ryoko pulled her up with gusto and proceeded to pat her forcefully on the shoulder.

With an impish grin on her face, the cyan-haired woman commented, "No hard feelings, 'k?" After Kiyone nodded uncertainly in agreement, Ryoko continued, "Right, well my soap's about to be on, so I'm gonna get goin'."

Just like that, the space pirate turned on her heel and started walking back to the house, oblivious to the gaping holes littering the lawn as a result of her energy blasts. Before she entered the house, Ryoko turned her head over her shoulder and remarked casually, "And by the way, while I still haven't completely forgiven you for stealing my Tenchi, I'll get over it…eventually."

A relieved smile broke out on Kiyone's face, but it immediately slid off her face when Ryoko turned to face her and added with a roguish grin, "Oh, and make sure to watch out 'cause I might "accidentally" steal him from right under your nose, 'k?" Beads of sweat appeared on Kiyone's forehead as she watched Ryoko turn on her heel once more and skip into the house while humming happily.

——————

It had been a week since the circumstances around the deaths of Kiyone's parents had been revealed, and peace and quiet had finally seemed to return to the Masaki household. At least, that's what Tenchi thought. On his way back from school, the young man paused for a moment on the long flight of steps leading up to his house and looked up with a small smile at the cloudless blue sky. Finally, he thought with a relaxed sigh, things are returning to normal.

The hapless boy's languid musing was interrupted, however, when a series of loud explosions coming from the top of the stairs jarred him out of his reverie. "What the—" Tenchi was cut off once more as more explosions resounded throughout the forest and briefly lit up the sky.

Fearing the worst, Tenchi threw down his books and began bounding up the steps. Hold on, Kiyone, he thought apprehensively as even more blasts went off.

He was halfway up the steps when a manic-sounding Ayeka cackled above him, "I've got you now, Kiyone!"

Another blast rang out, and Ryoko shouted heatedly, "There's no escape!"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Tenchi cried passionately as he finally made it to the top of the stairs. However, the determined boy stopped short and nearly fell over in surprise. "What the heck is going on here?" His exclamation fell on deaf ears as Ryoko, Ayeka, and Kiyone continued to merrily fired off energy blasts at each other and destroyed the landscape in the process.

Finally noticing his presence, the blasts immediately ceased as the three turned to him with huge grins and chorused excitedly, "Tenchi, you're home!" He was even more surprised as the three women abruptly flung themselves on him at once.

It took the girls a while to understand why the scene he had just witnessed had left him speechless. Ayeka caught on the quickest and tried to reassure him, "Oh, please don't worry about all of this, Lord Tenchi! We were just preparing Kiyone for when we come after her."

"Come…after…her?" The poor boy repeated slowly in bewilderment as he untangled himself and stood up. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Ryoko waved him off and answered lightly, "Y'know, for stealing you away from us, and all."

"What?" Tenchi sputtered in disbelief. His mouth opened and closed a few times like a dim carp, but no sound issued from them. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and looked at the three women as if they suddenly sprouted second heads, third eyes, or some extra appendages.

"But you know what the really crazy part is, Tenchi?" Ryoko added after the boy had at least partially swallowed the information. "Ayeka and I…we both are—well, we're gonna be—fine." She inflected the last word as if she was surprised about it as well.

Tenchi looked from the princess to the space pirate in shock, and it took him a while before he began, "Ryoko…Ayeka…I—"

"Oh, which reminds me!" Ryoko cut him off as she punched her hand with a fist, "Ayeka and I are gonna be goin' on a vacation!" Beads of sweat formed at her head at this, and she continued while scratching the back of her head, "Well, I guess it's more like a vacation from a vacation, but whatever."

Ayeka nodded wisely and added, "You see, we thought it would be best to give you two a bit of room for a while."

The space pirate smirked mischievously and addressed the silent Kiyone, "Think of it as more of a head start, got that?" She stuck her tongue out at the surprised policewoman and taunted, "'Cause you _know_ you're gonna need it when we come back!"

Without warning, Ayeka and Ryoko turned on their heels and began to walk back to the house. The princess turned her head and called back, "We'll be leaving in a couple of days." The space pirate waved without turning, and the two unlikely companions entered the house.

Kiyone and Tenchi stared after them in an astounded silence. Eventually, the teal-haired woman turned to face him and remarked coyly, "Well, it looks like I'm going to have you all to myself now, Tenchi Masaki."

"Uh-oh, should I start running?" Tenchi pretended to look frightened while struggling to hide a smile.

The smirking woman shook her head and replied, "It won't matter; I'll just run after you."

"What if I run so fast that I lose you, huh?" He teased while sticking out his tongue. "'Cause I do run pretty fast, y'know."

Kiyone playfully punched him in the shoulder and laughed, "I'm telling you, I'll still find you!" She paused for a moment and her expression softened when she added, "I'll always find you."

The teal-haired woman gasped in surprise as Tenchi suddenly gathered her in his arms. Their faces were inches apart when he muttered, "Good." Their lips met, and he murmured once more, "Good."

FIN.


End file.
